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This is the homily I gave this weekend. Enjoy! And, enjoy your holiday!

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

This line is from the Declaration of Independence. We all know it, but do we ever really think about it? This weekend we celebrate the birthday of our country. A lot of us will go on picnics, or go to ballgames, or go to the lake. There will be barbecue, and everything that goes with it, and a lot of beer. There will be days off work. There’s nothing wrong with that. Except for the lake and the beer, I plan to do some of these things myself.

But what about the meaning of Independence Day? We’re living in a time when so many people take our freedoms for granted. The Declaration ends with the words, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

This small group of men was setting about an almost impossible task. We were going to war with Great Britain, the most powerful military force on the planet. If we had lost, and without the protection of Almighty God we almost surely would have lost, these men were pledging their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. They would certainly all have been killed. Their families would have been killed. Their property would have taken away. And, instead of being remembered as American heroes, we’d remember them as British traitors.

But they had faith. Don’t let anyone tell you they didn’t. God’s name is all over the writings of these men.

Speaking about our Constitution, James Madison wrote, “It is impossible for any honest person not to be astonished (that the Constitution had been created in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles). It is impossible for the religious man not to once again perceive the finger of that Almighty Hand that so frequently and notably extended relief to us during the critical stages of the Revolution.”

No reasonable person, religious or not, could believe that this handful of farmers and businessmen could create the greatest form of government in the history of the world on their own. They were blessed, and we’re blessed by a God who wanted us to be an example to all the world.

This handful of men from all parts of the colonies, with diverse backgrounds and religions, were actually able to agree on this thing. There were no filibusters, no demonstrations, no walkouts. They just did it. The Holy Spirit had to be involved. Today’s politicians can’t even agree on when to go to lunch.

Sadly, we’re living in a time when so many people take our freedoms for granted. People from all over the world are literally dying to come here. Many of them can’t even comprehend our lifestyle. We can go wherever we want. Do whatever we want (within reason) and say just about anything we want. We may not realize it but that’s not true in a lot of other countries. Sadly, it’s those freedoms that may be our undoing.

In Christian charity, we have welcomed people from all over the world to join us. Now many of those people are attacking our Christian principles. We can’t have the Ten Commandments in our courthouses. We can’t have Nativity scenes on public property. People who work in retail stores aren’t even supposed to wish us a Merry Christmas. Where’s it all going to end?

As Catholic Christians, we belong to one of the few minorities that can be ridiculed without fear. People can say whatever they want about us and it’s OK.

“Catholics are all child molesters.” “Catholics don’t care about anything but abortion.” “Catholics worship statues.” “Catholics are cannibals because they eat the Body of Christ.” The more ridiculous the anti-Catholic statement is, the more people want to chime in. And, we let them do it. Look at how Muslims react to anti-Muslim rhetoric.

They won’t stand for it and we shouldn’t either.

The Fourth of July is called “Independence Day” for a reason and it’s not because we get the day off work. God has made us free. God has blessed the United States with the most abundant natural resources in the world. This place couldn’t have happened any other way. But now, we’re being told that “one nation under God” is discrimination against atheists.

If I go any further, I’m going to really go off on a rant, so I’ll stop now. I just want to urge you to take some time this weekend to give thanks to God for making you an American.

Our ancestors made a terrifying journey across the Atlantic and up the Mississippi to settle in this neighborhood so they could enjoy the freedoms that they didn’t have in their home country. When they got here they found prejudice against them from the locals who were former immigrants themselves. Yet this was still way better than they left behind. Like our founding fathers, they risked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

While we drink our beer, and eat our barbecue, and watch our ballgames this weekend, let’s not forget the brave men and women who made it possible.